AMD launches B3 Phenoms
27 Mar 2008 | 07:31 GMT
X3 and X4s, B2s and B3s, eight in all
AMD IS RELEASING the long awaited 'B3' Phenoms today with no TLB bug. It may be a day late and a few hundred MHz short, but they are finally out. Whoopee!
There are 8 new SKUs coming of various flavors, 3 and 4 core variants, and even some new B2 stepping parts. AMD wisely differentiated between B2 and B3 parts in the product name, B2s are 8x00 or 9x00, B3s end up with 8x50 or 9x50. Basically if it ends in 50, it is a new part. In the era of stupid and purposely confusing names, this is a ray of sunshine.
The vital stats
The 9xxx series are all quad core parts, the 8xxx are tri-cores, and all but the 9100e and the 8xxx parts are B3 steppings. The 9100e and 8xxx parts are older B2s, but don't be surprised if they are phased out sooner rather than later as B3s take up more of the mix.
The pricing puts them right on top of Intel quads, a few dollars cheaper making them a pretty damn good deal. The gaps in the pricing are because they are OEM only parts. Expect the 9650 to cost about what a 9600 does, the 8600, 8400 and 9100e to run about $175, $150 and $200 respectively.
Coupled with a 780G mobo, a lower end X4 or an X3 would make a nearly unbeatable casual gaming box for $300 or less. If you look at things from a platform perspective, something that is basically impossible not to do anymore, AMD makes up for a lot of CPU weakness with chipset and GPU goodness.
The news is not all that good though, starting with the wattage. If you look, the best that AMD can put out is a 95W 2.4GHz machine or a 125W 2.6. Lets hope for their sake that the early ramp of the B3 parts starts skewing toward higher clocks soon, 2.5GHz at 125W is not enough to make Intel notice, much less be afraid.
While it isn't going to set the overclocking world aflame, not literally, the offerings do represent a solid mix for retail parts. More mainstream priced quads will do well at Best Buy and retail channels and the tri-cores do not have a counter from Intel, and won't for a long time.
The X3 and X4s are bittersweet news. They should have been out in September, but they are finally here. With any luck, AMD can now put the last year behind them and move on. If nothing else, that is great news. µ
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